st. louis

SkyScreamer: Extreme swings thrill and terrify

I would like to install a swing set in my backyard. And I want it to be the SkyScreamer. At 236-feet in height, it may run afoul of my local zoning laws, but I don't care. I want to feel the 43 mph wind in my face as I rocket through the air.

Most extreme amusement park rides wrap you up in a cocoon of carts with cushioned safety accessories for an encapsulated experience. The just-opened SkyScreamer at Six Flags St. Louis strips a lot of that away and just dangles you out there with the clouds and birds. It's like a ski lift with a lot more adrenaline.

This is what you have been training for since those early days on the playground with your momma pushing you on a swing. It makes the swing ride at the state fair blush and tuck itself back into its trailer. It would have completely changed the feel of Hitchcock's "Vertigo," had it been around in 1958.

SkyScreamer's manufacturer, Australia-based Funtime Group, already claims the title for the world's tallest tower swing ride, the 384-foot StarFlyer in Vienna, Austria. The Six Flags version may be shorter, but it is still high enough up to scare the pants off of you. Just remember, you must be at least 48-inches tall to ride.

In awe at D.C.'s Air and Space Museum

WASHINGTON, D.C.--If you walk around the Air & Space Museum here, as I did Sunday, you can't help be struck by how much of the most important events and aircraft in aviation history are from decades ago.

This is the museum, after all, where you can find the plane the Wright Brothers used in humanity's first-ever powered flight, in Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903. And the capsule from John Glenn's first American manned orbit of the Earth. And the Apollo 11 capsule. And so on.

Then again, right above you when you come in … Read more

An iPod dock circa World War II

Forget about those updated boomboxes and cassette MP3 players. If you really want retro, this is the way to go.

This system from the Spirit of St. Louis Collection is designed to look like a World War II-era radio, like other models in the line, but this one has an iPod dock, CD player, and stereo speakers. And Chip Chick notes that it does have a working three-band radio as well, so it isn't totally artificial.

Milwaukee Brewers score in Harris Interactive poll's top 10

The Milwaukee Brewers hit a home run this year, landing the 10th ranked spot on Harris Interactive's list of America's favorite baseball teams.

Last year, the Brewers ranked No. 18, after having spent four consecutive years in the dugout with rankings in the low to mid 20s, according to Harris Interactive's announcement. The fact that the Brewers are leading the National League's central division is likely giving some froth to its rankings.

The online poll, which surveyed 2,372 adults in the U.S., ran from June 5-11.

And who was America's favorite baseball team … Read more